Thread: Former ‘Officer of the Year’ goes to prison on drug charges

Former ‘Officer of the Year’ goes to prison on drug charges

Brian M. Bendel, 43, of Somerville in Preble County, was sentenced to four years in prison March 12, 2014, in Warren County Common Pleas Court. Bendel, a former lieutenant and Officer of the Year at Lebanon Correctional Institution, pleaded guilty to possessing and selling anabolic steroids outside prison walls



Lt. Brian Bendel talks with Edgewood juniors Brandon Perry and Billy French about career opportunities at the Lebanon Correctional Institution during a job fair at the school in Trenton, Ohio Tuesday, Nov 11, 2008. Staff photo by Gary Stelzer

LEBANON —

A former lieutenant and “Officer of the Year” at Lebanon Correctional Institution is now behind bars.


Brian M. Bendel, 43, of Somerville in Preble County, was sentenced to four years in prison today in Warren County Common Pleas Court for possessing and selling anabolic steroids outside prison walls.


Last month, Bendel pleaded guilty to three felony counts of trafficking in drugs and two counts of possession of drugs as part of a plea deal.

Bendel, who faced a total of 21 counts, had the remainder of the charges against him dismissed.


When he entered his plea, Judge James Flannery told Bendel to be prepared to go to prison when he returned for sentencing. Today, Flannery made good on his word.


The judge also ordered Bendel to pay $22,000 in fines and be place on three years community control when released from prison.


Bendel was caught with vials of “Masteron 100,” “Sustanon 250,” and Testosterone 17-Phenlyproprionate on March 26 in the parking lot of a Middletown restaurant on Towne Boulevard, according to court documents. Drugs were also found at his Roberts Road residence.


About 25 of Bendel’s friends and family crowded into the courtroom for the sentencing. Three spoke on his behalf and Bendel offered an apology before learning his fate.


“I am ashamed of what I did,” Bendel said. “At the time I justified what I did …. I want to say I am sorry to the people I let down.”


Attorney Jonathan Fox said Bendel is a former Marine who worked in the difficult job of prison guard for 20 years. The steroids, while wrong, “made him stronger and helped him do his job.”


The judge told Bendel, “you can not pick and choose which laws to break and which laws to obey.”


Flannery noted steroid abuse in a significant problem in the United States and causes long term health problems.


“Nobody made you sell steroids … you made choices, you are a mature man, not a 20-year-old who doesn’t know anything,” Flannery told Bendel.


Anthony G. Conn, 41, of Miamisburg, also a former prison lieutenant, is scheduled to be sentence March 21 on drug charges, including drug trafficking, manufacturing and using anabolic steroids as well as child endangerment.


Conn sold drugs in various locations throughout Warren County, including the Powder Keg Harley-Davidson in Deerfield Twp., from 2012 to 2013. He also pleaded guilty to manufacturing and possessing steroids while his daughter, a minor, was present.


Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said Conn ordered drug ingredients from China and assembled the drugs.
Conn and Bendel were arrested and indicted in September on 70 criminal charges.


The Warren County Drug Task Force conducted a nine-month investigation into illegal steroid use, distribution and manufacture among staff at the close-security state prison.


Prosecutors said Conn ordered raw materials from China, assembled the drugs in his home — sometimes in the vicinity of a juvenile — and then both used the steroids and sold them. Bendel was both a user and a seller of Conn’s products.


Anabolic steroids are performance-enhancing drugs sometimes used in body building, which can increase muscle mass and strength. They are considered dangerous drugs under state law and can have harmful side effects.


The case started with a tip to the Warren County Drug Task Force, which worked in concert with the Ohio Highway Patrol and the Lebanon Correctional Institution. As the investigation progressed, a sting operation caught Conn and Bendel actively trafficking the drugs, Fornshell said.

Conn and Bendel each abruptly resigned from their state prison jobs in April without giving notice. Both men started working in the prison system in 1994 and had received positive performance reviews. Bendel was named the prison’s Officer of the Year in 2002 for thwarting a drug-smuggling attempt.


The prison, which opened in 1960, employs 526 and houses 2,602 inmates, mostly in close security, one step down from maximum security.
Conn earned $56,000 last year, according to state payroll records, and Bendel made $55,600.


Fornshell and Drug Task Force Commander John Burke noted they do not believe the drugs got into the hands of high school athletes.